Civil War Novel, Tribute to Author’s Baltimore Ancestor, Earns Praise from Florida Historians

Oct. 2, 2011 - PRLog -- "I'm thrilled at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to my Civil War novel," exclaimed Emily Hill, author of 'Jenkins: Confederate Blockade Runner'.  "I wrote the story of this very colorful ancestor as a legacy for my grandchildren, but it turned out to be so much more once it was accepted by Florida historians."

The author's most treasured review came from a Florida publisher, and historian, Bob Martinez.  For nearly 25 years Martinez  has published the very popular 'Old Brooksville In Photos and Stories'. His review of Ms. Hill's novel about the life of Colonel C.T. Jenkins, who was captured in the waters around Cedar Keys while running the Union blockade of Confederate ports follows:

Visit http://www.amazon.com/Jenkins-Confederate-Blockade-Runner-ebook/dp/B004E10X9O for details.

"As a long-time publisher of a Florida history magazine and living only 18 miles from the Gulf coast town of Bayport, Fla., a port that was vital to the Civil War, it would naturally arouse my interest that a new novel featuring the idyllic lifestyle of that town, set in the 19th Century called "Jenkins' would be released. I was very much aware of CT Jenkins, truly a Renaissance man, who led an extraordinary life as an adventurer and hero as a blockade runner for the Confederacy. Jenkins had also been noted as this area's first historian as well, documenting early firsts that would have been lost forever if not for him (he was one of Florida's Hernando County's first residents in 1842). Born in Baltimore in 1811, he defies his prosperous family and their business to go out on his own and finds his true soul mate with Lucy Colburn of Vermont (10 years his elder) leading to a sweeping romantic adventure with twists and turns which ultimately lead him to Florida and marrying Lucy's daughter Eliza in 1858 and to their location at Bayport. Emily Hill succeeds in her first big novel with a wondrous tale full of suspense, intrigue, family, sorrow, pagaentry and romance woven around the Civil War's center stage. Jenkins is taken prisoner and sent to Fort Warren federal prison in Boston and receives an 11th hour release. Bayport was bombed by Federal troops in 1864. Jenkins would ultimately return to Bayport and their final chapters are poignant and warm. The book's epilogue ends in St. Petersburg 1932.

What impressed me most about this novel was Hill's descriptive detail. You feel you are there with them having breakfast at Bayport on a crisp, breezy morning. Her character descriptions draw pictures and images that come alive on the page. This is an emotional book with many complex family issues. Hill's writing reminds me of Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain in its descriptive form. The book is a romantic tintype of a fascinating American life set in the 19th Century. Exhaustive research went into this. (Hill is related to CT Jenkins as well). History lovers yearning for a good story will adore this. In her first big novel, Emily Hill hits it out of the park! I look forward to more of her books in the future. Highly recommended!"

"Exhaustive research did go into the novel, Mr. Martinez was right about that!" agrees Ms. Hill.  "I worked on the novel as a genealogy project for fifteen years.  After I returned home from a research trip to the St. Petersburg, Florida area in 2009, I felt I had no choice but to write the history of Jenkins' family.  Because Colonel Jenkins' children died without direct heirs I felt I had to preserve his family's significant achievements in some way.  'Jenkins: Confederate Blockade Runner' is my tribute to his life, and his efforts on behalf of the Confederacy.  Although he was a prolific writer, and many of his writings are held in the Library of Congress, he never spoke of the Civil War after his release from Fort Warren, the Union's Massachusetts prison.  I take note of that fact." concludes Ms. Hill.

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A.V. Harrison Publishing features ground-breaking topics from emerging authors. Its books are distributed by Ingram, available on Amazon.com and B&N Nook. Owner, Emily Hill, invites submissions and can be contacted at info@avharrison-publishing.com.